Vida em Transição

In Esculca, a small village in the Serra do Açor, central Portugal, Teresa Leite and Ricardo Gonçalves founded and run the family eco-project Vida em Transição. They work from Lugar do Ribeiro, together with their two children, Miguel and Clara, and offer accommodation, personal development programmes and handmade products to visitors and participants. Teresa and Ricardo are a couple originally from Porto. The project started out of a wish for personal transformation, a growing sensitivity to the state of the world, and the arrival of their first child. They left the city and built a home and a life in the countryside, rooted in nature, conscious living and continuous self-development. The project is connected to the Awakened Life Project (Projecto Vida Desperta). Guests stay in the Hobbit House, rural accommodation for people who want to explore the surrounding region, spend time in the valley, or simply rest. The personal development programmes are designed and guided by the family, to support others through their own transitions and transformations. The family also makes artisan products by hand: meditation cushions, wooden crafts and natural blends. A programme called Visionário (Visionary) invites people to come and work alongside the family, contributing to the project while learning and growing personally. Through this way of working, the family wants to show that a meaningful life connected to nature is possible, and to encourage other families not to give up on their dreams.